Magnetic phase diagram of the iron pnictides in the presence of spin-orbit coupling: Frustration between $C_2$ and $C_4$ magnetic phases

TL;DR

This paper explores how spin-orbit coupling-induced anisotropic interactions create a complex magnetic phase diagram in iron pnictides, revealing frustration between $C_2$ and $C_4$ magnetic phases and the emergence of mixed phases.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed analysis of magnetic frustration caused by spin anisotropies in iron pnictides using mean-field and renormalization-group methods, highlighting novel phase coexistence.

Findings

Identification of frustration between $C_2$ and $C_4$ phases due to spin anisotropies.

Discovery of a rich landscape of mixed and novel magnetic phases below the transition temperature.

Explanation of why $C_4$ phases predominantly appear within the $C_2$ phase in experiments.

Abstract

We investigate the impact of spin anisotropic interactions, promoted by spin-orbit coupling, on the magnetic phase diagram of the iron-based superconductors. Three distinct magnetic phases with Bragg peaks at $(\pi,0)$ and $(0,\pi)$ are possible in these systems: one $C_2$ (i.e. orthorhombic) symmetric stripe magnetic phase and two $C_4$ (i.e. tetragonal) symmetric magnetic phases. While the spin anisotropic interactions allow the magnetic moments to point in any direction in the $C_2$ phase, they restrict the possible moment orientations in the $C_4$ phases. As a result, an interesting scenario arises in which the spin anisotropic interactions favor a $C_2$ phase, but the other spin isotropic interactions favor a $C_4$ phase. We study this frustration via both mean-field and renormalization-group approaches. We find that, to lift this frustration, a rich magnetic landscape emerges well below the magnetic transition temperature, with novel $C_2$, $C_4$, and mixed $C_2$-$C_4$ phases. Near the putative magnetic quantum critical point, spin anisotropies promote a stable Gaussian fixed point in the renormalization-group flow, which is absent in the spin isotropic case, and is associated with a near-degeneracy between $C_2$ and $C_4$ phases. We argue that this frustration is the reason why most $C_4$ phases in the iron pnictides only appear inside the $C_2$ phase, and discuss additional manifestations of this frustration in the phase diagrams of these materials.